Overcorrective shoe for deformed feet



April 8, 1941. w. o. MINOR OVERCORRECTIVE SHOE FOR DEFORMED FEET FiledAug. 7. 1939 Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE William0. Minor, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Dorothy C. Minor, Atlanta, Ga.

Application August 7, 1939, Serial No. 288,717

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an overcorrective shoe for treating thedeformity known as flat feet. This congenital deformity is to bedistinguished from the inrolling of a previously normal foot byweakening of the muscles or ligaments of the foot known as fallen archesbut sometimes popularly called flat feet. In the deformity for which thepresent invention is intended, a malformation of the interior structureof the foot causes an inrolling usually much more marked than withfallen arches and often results in ,the entire weight being carried bythe inner edge of the foot, the outer portion of the foot being useless.

This condition may be corrected in young children by placing thedeformed foot in a plaster cast, or a series of such casts, designed tohold the foot in a corrective position for long periods of time. Whenthe cast has been removed there is a tendency for the foot to return tothe original deformed condition unless corrective shoes are applied.This tendency is so marked that a normally shaped shoe fails to hold thefoot in fore this correction has been secured by twisting the foot abouta horizontal axis to lift the inner edge and lower the outer edgethereof. In the present invention the correction is applied much moreeffectively by twisting the forepart of the foot inwardly about avertical axis and tilting the heel portion only about a horizontal axis.

Other objects and features of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawing and the following description and claim. Since theform of a shoe follows closely the form of the last on which it is made,the shape of the shoe is best described with reference to the last.Several of the figures, therefore, show the last rather than the shoe.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of last on which a shoe may bebuilt in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view thereofwith certain parts of the shoe added thereto. Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l with the insole addedthereto.

Fig. 4 is a rear view of a shoe constructed on the last illustrated.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated in the drawing, thelast l0 and consequently the shoe formed on said last, is formed withthe axis A-B of the forepart of the foot inclined inwardly with respectto the axis A-C of the heel portion. The axis A--B makes an acute angleH with the axis A-C. The heel of the last is formed as best seen in Fig.2 with the undersurface l l of the heel portion upwardly and inwardlyinclined with respect to-the undersurface'of the forward portionindicated by the broken line D-E in Figs. 2 and 3. The heel axis F-G isinclined outwardly from the vertical.

The line F--G represents the extreme rear surface of the heel of thelast and in normal shoes is substantially vertical.

In constructing a shoe on this last, a wedge piece l2 having thehorizontal extent indicated in Fig. 1 is applied to the heel of theinsole l3 between the same and the last. The outer corner IA of the lastis rounded and the wedge piece is provided with a lip I5 closely fittingthe curvature of the last. In Fig. .2 the undersurface of the heel ofthe finished shoe is indicated by the broken line I5. 'In the forwardpart of the shoe as shown in Fig. 3 the lower surface of the last [0 issubstantially straight across or slightly rounded in the downwarddirection as in normal shoes. The interior foot bearing surface of theforward part of the shoe is thus substantially parallel to theundersurface of the outsole indicated inFig. 3 by the broken line H.

In a shoe constructed on the last just described and shown in Fig. 4,the rear portion of the shoe is inclined outwardly with respect to theundersurface of the heel. The inner foot bearing surface of the heelportion represented by the upper surface of the wedge 12 and insole I3is inclined upwardly and inwardly with respect to the undersurface ofthe heel and outsole. This con struction when combined with the inwardtwist of the forepart of the shoe produces a force tendi ing strongly tolift the inner portion of the lon gitudinal arch of the foot and thus torestore the arch structure and heel and ankle bones to their normalrelative positions. The effect on the arch is much more marked than ispossible when the foot is merely twisted about a horizontal axis as bywedging beneath the entire inner edge of the foot.

The provision of the rounded corner It of the last and the accompanyinglip on the wedge piece prevents the heel of the foot from running overthe edge of the wedge piece and insole and serves to preserve the formof the shoe and to prevent callouses on the foot at this point.

The shape of the shoe constructed in accordance with the invention hasbeen indicated by describing the last on which it is made.Constructional features of the shoe which distinguish from the usualpractice have been illustrated. In other respects, normal shoe makingpractice is followed and need not be described in detail. The details ofthe invention as herein disclosed may be varied without departing fromthe scope thereof as defined in the appended claim.

sole, and having the interior foot bearing portion of the heel portioninwardly and upwardly in- 10 clined with respect to said plane.

(VILLIAM O. MINOR.

